Madagascar: Feelings Unknown
by Reikiya Namiko
Summary: Kalixes is a young lioness trying to escape herself and her manipulative father, then the Zoosters come along. Can they help her stick to her change before it's too late? AlexXOC.
1. Chapter One

**Hey All!! I'm changing around the story a little so for those who've read the original i apologize, I'll be updating soon!**

**Disclaimer: Listen well cause I'm only going to say this once. I. DO. NOT. OWN. MADAGASCAR! If i did I'd be the freggin happiest person in the world, but sadly I'm not, but i DID invent Kalixes, SO DON'T EVEN THINK OF TAKING HER OR YOU WILL ALL DIE!! lmao jkjk. alright, on with the story!!**

Madagascar: Feelings Unknown.

Chapter 1

I prowled around inside the forest, paranoia kicking in every time I heard a twig break of leaves rustle. I knew Father would never approve on my 'Vegetarian' diet, so I had to hunt in private.

After what seemed like ages, I found the lake. Oh how much I loved the lake! It was always my favorite place to be, the sparkling blue water shining in the sun's reflection, sitting upon a deep grey boulder, which I use to sharpen my claws for hunting. I breathed out in comfort. No one knew of this place except for me; and I intend to keep it that way.

I walked over to the rock, my dark tanned fur shining in the sunlight, my somewhat of a mane stayed firmly covering my right eye, and curling outward just below my chin, giving me a female appearance, which is good since I _am_ female. I unsheathed my claws and started slashing at the boulder, sharpening them until they were absolutely perfect. I smiled at my reflection showing on my claws, my piercing green eyes dancing in amusement at being in my favorite place at the best time; lunch. Father never questioned where I would leave everyday at noon, and I was beginning to worry if he had caught on my little secret. I remember the last time a pack member disobeyed the rules. I shivered involuntarily. Let's just say Father made sure he'd become an herbivore in his next life.

I dug my claws in the water, grabbing as many fish as possible. Sure, it _was_ still meat but Father would never approve. He was a sick lion who enjoyed hearing the shrill cries of the prey. At least I was fast and clean about it.

Just then I heard a strange noise above me. It sounded like many different rocks and minerals clashing together, and breaking them apart into bits. I grabbed my ears, not wanting to hear the bloodcurdling noise, -wincing in pain when I realized I still had my claws unsheathed- and my jade eyes looked up in both anger and curiosity. My eyes widened at what I saw; flying right above me, -and descending quickly- was what seemed to be a giant bird made of some strange material. It was getting closer to the ground, but closer to the forest and further away from me. Out of curiosity, I followed the strange bird-thing.

It was harder to see it thanks to the giant trees of the African jungle. It just made me run faster, wanting to find the stupid thing so that my curiosity would die out and I can go back to my wonderful lake. For a moment, the noise stopping, I sighed in disappointment, thinking it was gone. But to my gratitude (as well as dismay), an even louder noise filled the area for a split second but was loud enough to kill small animals with vibrations alone! It seemed like the objects that were clashing together saved up for a big finale because it sounded as though it had exploded, sending my paws right back up to my ears.

That perked my curiosity even more and I ran even faster than usual on all fours. I stopped abruptly at what I saw, very puzzled at the things that emerged from the strange bird.

There, sitting on… well… _something_ were: Four small, short, fat black and white birds, a zebra, a hippopotamus, a giraffe, and the last one puzzled me greatly. It was a _lion_. And not only was it not attacking it's obvious prey, but it was conversing with them! And telling off the bird-things… I stared at it curiously. _Could there be other vegetarian lions besides me?_ I thought hopefully as I subconsciously walked over to them.

The giraffe one broke away from their conversation and stared at me, panic-stricken. "AHHHHHHHHH!! ALEX!! LOOK!! AHHH WE'RE ALL GOING TO _DIE_!!" he shouted like a crazed maniac. I rolled my eyes. Pathetic much?

He kept shouting random words but my attention was on the lion. The golden tanned lion looked confused at first, but then his eyes flickered to me, anger and panic bathed in his deep ocean blue eyes. He walked in front of the other animals, chocolate brown mane staying firmly in place, crowned upon his head as crouched down, eyes narrowing and pupils turning to slits as he unsheathed his claws.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa wait!" I said reassuringly, raising up my hands in appease "Don't mean any harm there, buddy" I said and I sighed in relief when I saw the lion relax a little, but still stayed in his crouched position, pupils turning back into circles.

"What do you want?" he growled, glowering at me.

"Nothing! Hey, you can't blame me! If you saw a weird giant bird in the sky, wouldn't you be curious?" I asked, getting a little annoyed.

"Giant bird? What are you talking about?" he asked, equally annoyed, but getting up from his attacking position.

"She's talking about the plane, Alex. Right?" asked the zebra, hooves pointing at the giant bird thing. I nodded and Alex scowled.

"Marty, don't _talk_ to her! She sees you as her lunch!" 'Alex' shouted angrily at the zebra now known as Marty.

"Hey!" I shouted angrily, gaining the attention of them all, including the annoying lion "It's not like you're any different! _You're_ a lion! And I just happen to be a vegetarian…! Well, somewhat, but a vegetarian nonetheless! So don't act like you know anything about me!" I shouted frustratingly. I hated it when people assumed I was something other than myself.

"You're one to talk! No, you _shouldn't _be talking, so just shut u-"

"SHUT UP ALEX!" Shouted the hippo as she strutted over and grabbed Alex by the ears and started pulling him towards me. I stifled back a giggle. _Looks like the prey is taking charge_. I thought as I snickered. I vaguely heard what the hippo was saying to the lion.

"… We need help so just _shut up_ and apologize," she muttered angrily at her lion friend.

"But Gloria…" he whined "Ow!" he howled when she pulled harder on his ear. He sighed and looked down at me (He was slightly taller) "Sorry…" he mumbled.

"Sorry, can you say that again, I couldn't hear you," I provoked jokily and laughed out loud when I saw his eye twitch.

"Don't push it," he muttered through clenched teeth.

"Ah, I'm just messing with you, and its okay, I get that all the time," I said as my smile turned to a frown, remembering all the tries at making friends with animals other than my own kind. That had not been fun. I shook away those thoughts and put up a smile.

Gloria tried to hide the amused smile forming on her lips by watching Alex trying to hold back his anger. "I'm Gloria, honey, what's your name?" she asked, sticking out her hand.

"Kali," I said happily as I shook her hand with my oversized paw. I flashed a toothy grin, I think I'm going to like her; she's cool. I looked at Alex, who was now rubbing his pained ear with his paw. I giggled and put out my paw to shake. He stared at it for a moment then sighed and shook it.

"Alex." He said bluntly, ending the handshake.

"It's a pleasure," I said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes. "I'm Alex! It's so nice to meet you, and what's your name?" I mocked his voice but added enthusiasm to it "_That_ is a proper introduction, _your_ intro was just sad." I said, wagging my finger in front of his face and flicking his forehead. He growled and I just laughed quietly. "I'm Kali," I said happily "It's nice to meet you," I added as sincerely as I could. I thought I saw a smile cross his face but it disappeared as quickly as it came. He just gave a curt nod and walked back to his zebra friend.

"Ah don't worry about Alex, he'll come around. He's just worried is all," Gloria's voice startled me; I hadn't noticed she was still there. His deep blue eyes mesmerized me… "Kali? You there?" I heard Gloria say as she waved her hand in front of my face. I shook my head lightly.

"Ya sorry, what did you say?" I asked politely.

"It's alright. You see, actually… we crash-landed here and we have no idea where exactly here _is_. So if you could help us out it would really be appreciated," she said hopefully. I just gave her a toothy grin.

"No problem, I know this place like the back of my paw. And you're in Africa, by the way. But… right now I can't show you around." I added quickly. I doubt Father would approve of me bringing home prey that wasn't supposed to be eaten. She looked surprised.

"Oh? How come?" she asked.

"Well… uh… you see… I doubt my… _pride_ leader would let me bring you guys with me… he's sorta… _against_ the whole, vegetarian thing" I explained as easily as I could without freaking her out.

"Oh. It's fine, do you know a place we could hide out before you come back?" she asked and I bit my lower lip. I didn't really _want_ to tell them about my special spot, but at least they could never be found there.

"Ya, follow me" I said as I tried to hide the sadness in my voice. I started walking towards the forest.

I stopped briefly to wait for Gloria and the others to come; she seemed to have trouble with Alex. I heard him vaguely saying something about 'Not trustworthy' and 'You're her lunch!' followed by a slap and eight animals obediently behind me, one rubbing his cheek in pain. I stared at the four funny looking birds for a moment before calling over Gloria.

"What's up?" she asked once I got into earshot.

"Who are those guys?" I whispered, secretly pointing at the birds. She looked at them and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, they're penguins. They're the reason we crashed here," she said loudly, just so they could hear. The medium sized one with a sly look on his face walked over.

"We warned you of the dangers of the flight course, doll, didn't we Kowalski?" asked the penguin. The skinny and tall penguin took out an old Chinese calculator and started moving the tiny beads so quickly it made my head spin.

"Positive Skipper, they were fully aware of the events that could have occurred, and it just so happened this was one of them." Said the skinny one with the notepad. 'Skipper' nodded and returned his attention to us.

"So you see, this isn't exactly _our_ fault" said Skipper. He then turned around to rejoin his strange army-like group.

"Okay then…" I muttered while going through the last trees to get to my special spot. "Here we are guys," I said while waving my arms around in a dramatic way "Welcome to my special place!" I said in fake happiness.

Everyone ran off in different directions; Marty started to jog around the lake, admiring it's beauty, Gloria jumped in the water and started to swim and dive around, the giraffe, (whose name is Melman, by the way) was inspecting every bit of the landscape, the penguins seemed to be making a plan on how to fix the 'plane' or so they called the giant bird thing, and Alex was… wait, where _was_ Alex?

"You're acting fake." His voice startled me, I turned around quickly; he seemed comfortable sitting on the small patch of green grass next to me, eyes staring onto the lake. My expression changed from anger to curiosity by the look on his face; empathy.

"Am not." I lied, crossing my arms around my chest and looking away, onto the lake, the stars shining so brightly, lighting up the entire plain.

"This is your place, and you don't want anyone to be here" he said softly, as if reading my mind. I sighed.

"Ya well, would you rather be out there where Fath- I mean predators might get to you?" I asked, not wanting to give too much away.

It's not that I didn't _want_ to tell them that Father was Africa's greatest predator… wait, that's _exactly_ what I didn't want them to know. If they found out they would definitely avoid me, and it would give Alex another reason to hate me.

Alex sighed and looked up into the sky. "I would never let anyone on my stage back in New York," he continued on, as if I never spoke. "It was _my_ place, _my_ special spot, where no one, and I mean _no one_ would go, and if someone did, never happened but I knew that if it _did_ happen, I would feel completely violated because it was _mine_. So quit faking it cause I know how you feel." He said as he got up and started walking away. He stopped briefly and turned his head swiftly towards me "And I appreciate it." He said quietly as he continued walking away to join Marty on his jog.

I stared for a moment at where he was standing. _How could he have _known_ that? I'm not exactly an open book... _I thought. My attention back to the stars. _Wow… the stars are so gorgeous… and the moon is really bright tonight… wait, moon?? STARS?? CRAP I'M LATE!!_ I quickly jumped up and started running for the trees.

"Kali, where ya going?" Gloria's voice stopped me from running any further. I slapped my forehead and ran back to her, feeling very uneasy, knowing Father would be _really_ pissed when I got back.

"Sorry, I was supposed to be home _hours _ago. Do **not **leave this spot under any circumstances. My pride cannot come here, so you're safe." I said quickly, as I started walking away.

"Wait, if your pride isn't aloud here, why are you aloud?" Gloria asked. That made me stop instantly; I turned my head to her, flashing her a smirk.

"I'm not." I said slyly as I dashed out of the plain leaving a flabbergasted Gloria and a group of New Yorkers on their own in a new place, for the moment anyways.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter 2

Third Person POV

Alex paced back and forth, angrily waiting for Kali to come back to the plain. _Oh man when she gets here I swear I'll-_

"Alex would you stop worrying, your pacing is giving me a headache!" complained Marty.

"I'm not worried about her! I'm just pissed that she's not here yet!" Alex exclaimed angrily. _Pfft, me? Worried about _that_ lioness? Please. As if. No way._ He angrily reminded himself, even though every other part of him screamed he _was_ worried about the missing lioness.

Alex's ears suddenly perked up. He heard footsteps… _Many_ footsteps. "Everyone, hide!" he whispered loudly. Everyone had puzzled expressions on their faces but obeyed anyway. Alex and Marty ducked behind the giant boulder, Gloria hid underwater, Melman blended in with the trees and the penguins where doing their own secret operation.

_I can't believe it… how can she turn on us like this? When I get my hands on her I swear I'll-_

"This is where he said she was hiding out…" A male voice said as the footsteps stopped. Another male voice groaned.

"Why do we have to be here? I don't wanna miss that ceremony! I wanna get a swipe at her throat…" That made Alex gulp. _They're not talking about Kali… right?_

"I have to admit, I can't believe Kali would disobey her own father. Well, she gets what she deserves." Said the other male as the footsteps started again until they were out of earshot.

Alex went completely pale. Gloria rushed out of the pool and started screaming at him, but he wasn't listening. _No… they wouldn't… they wouldn't kill their own pride member…! Then again… _Suddenly Alex got the urge to go and pulverize every single thing that wanted to hurt Kali, so he ran, on all fours, to the direction where the other lions where headed. He gave in to his instincts and let the beast within him run loose; the part of him that still held some sanity prayed that she was okay.

Kali's POV

I glared at the creatures in front of me, all waiting the chance to pounce and rip me apart bit by bit. Truly, I thought they were better than this, especially Kaeri. I knew her since birth, and yet there she is, snarling with her lips curled up to show her canine teeth. I mimicked her position, trying desperately not to show the fear I was feeling at the moment. The leader of the pack then prowled over, tanned fur glistening in the sun, dark brown mane slowly moving in the wind. He was careful with his every movement, eves filled with disappointment and disgust. He stopped a few feet away from me, and stared at my cornered figure. He shook his head in pity. I glared darkly at the lion I once called Father.

"Really, Kalixes. I thought I raised you better than this. We are lions, predators. We kill to live," he paused "And we live to kill," he added darkly. "Why can't you grasp that fact?" he asked with a sigh, and then glared at me directly in the eyes, pupils slowly turning into slits.

"Really _Father_," I mimicked angrily "You should respect my decision, I think you owe me _that_ much." I muttered, eyes flickering from anger to fear with the prides' steps forward.

"Oh, well that's where you're wrong, _dear_ daughter, I owe you nothing. I've raised you the way only I could and you've disobeyed. I believe I had informed you of the consequences of doing so." He said as his lips turned into a sickening smile, filled with the joy of another meal and another death.

"Pfft, like I'm going down without a fight!" I roared, tackling him to the ground with all my strength.

I instantly knew this was a bad idea but I was also aware of the fact that they were probably going to search my little paradise soon enough and then my new friends would have been found out, so I did my best at stalling, even if it killed me.

That's when all the pain pilled up on me. I instantly felt all the fangs and claws that were penetrating my skin and I howled in pain, but my howl was overpowered _greatly_ by a _very_ loud roar. All the lions stopped their attack instantly, turning their heads attentively at Father, and their eyes widened when they realized the roar was not coming from Father, but a very familiar looking lion-friend of mine.

My eyes widened in disbelief and in awe. He looked absolutely _feral_ that it was just plain creepy. He stood there, crouched on all fours, hair all tousled up, lips curled into a fierce snarl, eyes narrowing at the one lion I didn't think he'd be glaring at. _Me_.

Every step he took echoed loudly as everyone started stepping back, leaving a trail that led to me. It seemed they were even more terrified than I was, considering I was the one he was walking forward to kill. He growled with every step until his fangs were right at my neck. I shut my eyes fearfully, not wanting to hurt him even though he was about to kill me.

"_Pssssst" _I opened one eye and stared at him. He was smirking at me!? I gave a bewildered look. "Just play along," he whispered softly. I nodded discretely. He turned away from me completely and faced the entire crowd of curious lions. "How dare you start the ceremony without me?!" he shouted in a macho-voice with fake fury. Father stepped forward.

"And who might you be?" asked Father curiously.

"I am the conqueror of the Foosa and the King of New York! Don't dare speak to me with such insolence!" he shouted angrily and I involuntarily shivered, he was pretty creepy when he was mad. He then quickly turned around and picked me up without effort, and cringed slightly at my wounds. "I'll be taking her!" he said quickly while making a run for it.

I blinked a couple times, to try and let the events sink in. When I finally got back to my senses, I saw that I was being piggy-backed by Alex and we were running as far as possible from my clan. I involuntarily looked back and saw that they were hot on our trail.

"Don't worry," he breathed, I tried to see his face through his giant mane, but no such luck. He must have felt the fear I was feeling because his arms tightened and he seemed somewhat more… determined. "I won't let them hurt you again." I stared at him in awe, but he was in such deep concentration that he wasn't even looking where he was going, not like it matters since his instincts took over and he was swiftly moving over and under everything. That is, until we reached the cliff.

He stopped abruptly, re-realizing the situation we were in and stood protectively in front of me before the crowd of angry lions. Father took a step forward and Alex snarled; claws unsheathed. I stared at Alex; eyes wide with both worry and fear for my new friend.

"Alex," I whispered softly "Don't challenge him. He's got the upper hand here, and you're going to get yourself hurt," I said quietly. He chuckled without humor.

"You're the one who just got attacked by your own Father, has at least twenty or more bleeding cuts, and you're worried about _me_?" he chuckled dryly. "Tell me, how afraid are you of heights?" he whispered while Father started talking about forgiving him or something.

"Um, not much I guess… why?" I whispered back confusedly.

He just gave me a toothy grin and quickly scooped me up in his arms and jumped off the cliff. I shrieked loudly, was he _trying_ to kill us!?

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU –NMHDBSFVS" He clamped his paw over my mouth.

"Be quiet and swim underwater to the shore right under the cliff, that way they won't see us," he whispered, clearing up my previous confusion. I had enough time to nod before being hit roughly by the ocean water. It stung my wounds and I tried crying out in pain, only to swallow water. I tried my best to swim forward but the current was dragging me deeper into the water and further away from the shore.

My cuts burned, I was exhausted and my arms and legs gave out on me. I let go and aloud the current too roughly pull me back and forth. I involuntarily let out the last bit of my oxygen as everything started blacking out. The last thing I saw where bright sapphire eyes staring at me through the murky salt water with a look of terror and worry in them.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter 3

I groaned in pain as my eyes started to flutter open. They suddenly shot open as I turned around and started gagging, trying to get out all of that disgusting salt water. I felt someone rub my back soothingly. I turned to see the same sapphire eyes as before, except now they were filled with happiness and relief instead of terror and worry.

"Jump off the cliff, into the water. Not your best idea, Alex," I said sarcastically, followed by an: 'I'm just kidding' smile. Then he unexpectedly hugged me tightly. I winced slightly; he was crushing my wounds. He immediately stopped hugging and backed away a little.

"Sorry…" he muttered, staring at the sand at his feet.

"What are you talking about? You totally saved my life back there, buddy!" I flashed him a sincere smile "Thanks!" I said happily. He just smiled a little smile but then frowned and sighed.

"I should have gotten their earlier… then they wouldn't have…" his voice trailed off. I looked down at my cuts.

"Oh these? They're nothing, I deal with it all the time," I said quietly. He did a double take.

"Hang on, how long have you had those cuts?" he asked, pointing at scabbed wounds.

"Uh… I dunno… a day… a week… maybe a few months, why?" I asked and his eyes became concerned again.

"They might be infected, with you running around in the forest; who knows what got in there," he scrunched up his face. "I'll have to take you to Melman right away," he said getting up. I looked at him puzzled.

"The giraffe guy?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's really paranoid about his health but he's actually a pretty skilled doctor, considering the fact he had an MRI before he could walk." He said and I laughed at that, but then gripped my stomach in pain. I groaned.

"I doubt I'll be able to make it though…" I said, trying to get a look around. I looked over at Alex, who was staring at my wounds. He then nodded.

"Alright, climb on," he said as he got into a crouched position. I gave a questioned look.

"Huh?" I asked, staring at him. He sighed.

"Get on my back, I want to get back before nightfall, and the sooner we get your wounds treated the better, so come on," he said, motioning his hand over.

"Okay…" I said as I got onto his back and wrapped my arms around his neck, trying not to strangle him.

I felt arms supporting my legs before the wind started hitting my face. I stared around and the changing scenery, I saw a splash of cream and light purple and I smiled despite the situation. I had always loved those pretty purple bell-like flowers. We were nearly out of there, but I didn't want to leave without risking a glace back, which I instantly regretted doing.

I saw Father's figure slowly growing smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared but not before turning around and heading back to the pride's cave. I stared puzzlingly. _Father never retreats… unless…_

"Kali, you can let go now," Alex's voice interrupted my thoughts and I realized we were there and that I was still hanging on tightly to his neck. I felt my face heat up as I let go of him and sat on the ground.

"Sorry…" I muttered shyly. I winced as my injured fur hit the sand.

"Kali! What happened?" Gloria's concerned voice got louder as she ran to us.

"Nothing, just a little disagreement between family," I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible but my pained face gave away my true state.

"Shit! You're really hurt! Melman!" called over Gloria and the giant giraffe walked over, his face turning from curiosity to shock to absolute panic.

"What did you DO to yourself!?" he shouted worriedly. I just looked away. "Well, don't worry about it. Alex, get the first aid kit in the glove compartment of the plane," Alex nodded and ran to the direction of the giant bird. "Marty, I need you to go get as much salt water as possible," he continued, and then Marty ran off into the jungle with a giant container in his hand.

"And me, Melman?" asked Gloria. Melman looked at her then turned his attention back to my wounds.

"Wait here and do what I say when they get here, for now though, go and find something unbreakable, well, like a branch or something" said Melman and Gloria was off.

I winced in pain as he poked the swollen areas beside my large gashes. He was also observing some older cuts. I didn't notice much else because I was very dizzy from the morning, and I started to feel nauseous.

"Tell me," he started, getting my attention back "How long have you had those cuts?" he asked, pointing to the same ones Alex had been pointing at. I shrugged.

"Not sure… a few weeks, I think, if not more" I replied and he pursed his lips. I was about to ask what was wrong but then Alex arrived with a small case, it was red and white, and covered in brown rust.

"Here, Melman," he said as he sat down a few feet away, he looked at me, our eyes met and he looked away. Melman then got up to inspect the contents of the first aid kit, and went to join Marty who just arrived with the salt water. I sighed and looked down. _Geez… why does he hate me so much? I never did anything to him…_ I thought sadly.

"Kali…" Alex's voice brought me to attention. My eyes widened in disbelief at his words. "I'm sorry. I was being a real jerk to you… but I just worry about my friends, I know its no excuse to judge you… so, I'm sorry," he said. I was too shocked for words. He then put out his hand, "Let's start over. Hi, I'm Alex! It's so nice to meet you, and what's your name?"

At that, I started laughing hysterically. All of the pain I felt, and all of my worries seemed to diminish just in that second of pure happiness. I then smiled as warmly as possible and accepted the handshake.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Alex. My real name isn't Kali," I smirked when I saw his expression change to curiosity, "It's Kalixes, but don't call me that," I said, a little sadly.

"Why not?" he asked somewhat disappointingly "It's a cool name," he added happily. I smiled back.

"'Cause my mom called me that," I said as my voice cracked a little.

He was about to say something but stopped himself when Melman came back, and so did all the pain, the headaches and the nausea. Melman came back carrying some sort of smooth, warm material that where white, for the moment.

"Alright, now, let's get started. Alex, no offence, but you have to go." Said Melman, Alex gave a questioning look and before he could object, Melman added, "She's a girl and I think she would like to have her privacy respected. Only Gloria and I will stay with her, sorry Al"

Alex pursed his lips and nodded. He flashed me a quick smile before going off with Marty. Melman motioned Gloria over.

"I found a branch, that okay?" asked Gloria, handing him the arm's length stick. Melman nodded.

"Perfect," said Melman and he gave it to me. I stared at it puzzlingly.

"Um, what's this for?" I asked as he started pouring the salt water on the cloth-like material.

"That's to stop you from screaming," he said and before I could say anything he answered my unasked question "When you feel like screaming out in pain, - which trust me, you will- you chew on it. Okay?" he said and I nodded.

Suddenly, a strong stinging sensation was pressured onto the large gash in my side, and as told, I started gnawing at the branch to stop from roaring out in pain. I felt the cloth clean out the wound inside out and I swear I was just about ready to chew my arm off in pain. The pain in my head grew worse and worse every second. Then, I was gnawing not for the sake of the stinging, but for the shaking sensation that began in my shin that was slowly spreading throughout my body.

"Melman… I feel… weird…" I said through the moans.

I stared at him while he tried to think, my stomach churned. I felt something disgusting climbing up my throat and I quickly ran to the other end of the savannah and started throwing up. I vaguely heard Melman explaining to everyone that I was probably just _extremely_ hungry. I felt the atmosphere around us turn tense almost immediately as I walked back towards them, feeling slightly better.

I washed my mouth out with the lake's water before going back to Melman. I sat down and waited for him to stop murmuring with the rest of them. Then, Melman said something that seriously pissed off Alex; he stormed off in the direction of the lake. Melman then cautiously walked back to me and took out a long white ribbon-like material out of the container, or 'First-Aid Kit' how they called it. He started wrapping it around my torso and they quickly turned crimson.

"What's wrong with Alex?" I asked curiously, watching Alex throw pebbles into the lake out of the corner of my eye.

"Hm? Oh nothing." He said briefly, ripping off the end of the ribbon and tied the two ends together.

He smiled down at me before leaving to getting Alex, who just mumbled something and walked over to me and grabbed my arm. He lifted me effortlessly and continued to drag me, into the jungle. I grabbed my arm back and stopped walking. He stopped also and sighed.

"Where are we-" I started

"We're going hunting." He said with an exaggerated sigh. I went pale and held up my arms in disagreement.

"No, no, no, no, no we are NOT going hunting!" I shouted angrily, starting to run back to the hidden savannah. Unfortunately, I was still a little shaky from throwing up so I stopped a few yards from where I was, and in no time Alex caught up with me.

"Look, I don't like it any better than you do but you're hungry so-"

"NO! Listen to me! I do NOT hunt! I haven't hunted in MONTHS. Not for impala or anything, anyways. I ONLY hunt FISH! Understood!?" I shouted and his expression changed from grim to relief at my words.

"Thank God. I hate killing animals," he said as he let out a breath I hadn't known he was holding. "Where do you usually hunt?" he asked and I motioned to the direction on the savannah.

"Where we were before, but we should probably find a new spot, for two reasons. One, I don't think they should be around while we're in the 'hunting mood'," Alex shuddered at the thought, "and two, my pride will probably go looking there soon, not right away since I injured a few of them this morning," I said shrugging. "Sound good?" I asked and he nodded.

"Alright then, let's go!" shouted Alex as he grabbed my arm again and ran off in the direction on the main savannah.

My face grew hot at the sudden contact, took my arm back and started running beside him, looking through the thick trees for any signs of water.

For what seemed like hours, we traveled across the land, passing many other creatures that just shrieked at the random running lions and scurried out of sight. I grew more and more tired with the passing minutes, growing thirstier at the thought of fresh water. The quickly changing landscape was giving me a headache, until suddenly, a quick flash of blue crossed my vision. I stopped abruptly.

"Alex! I think I see-"

"WATER!" shouted Alex, looking as parched as I felt. We both scrambled to the waterhole, crossing many baobab trees and luscious tall plants until we finally reached the plain.

It wasn't _as_ nice as mine, and not nearly as big in size, but I had to admit, it was _perfect._ It was in the middle of nowhere and would be hard to follow our scent because of all the plants and trees surrounding it. There was a smaller lake in the middle, but it was practically _overflowing_ with fish! I involuntarily unsheathed my claws at the thought of food finally entering my demanding stomach.

I then gave into my instincts and just ran at full charge to the lake, Alex practically beating me there, and started to fish.

After a good hour and a half, we both lay down, patting our satisfied stomachs. I then got up and stretched my arms. "I feel _so_ much better now," I said, smiling, looking up and realized, shockingly, that the moon was up and the stars where out.

I gazed up at them in awe, no matter how many times I've seen the stars; they've never seized to amaze me. Alex seemed to join me in stare gazing, for I heard his quick gasp.

"They say that every star is a soul that has crossed over, and they also say that the brighter the star is, the better their lives had been," I pointed up at two dimly lit stars, "That's my mother and brother," I said grimly, staring at it for a few moments before meeting Alex's questioned gaze. I sighed and tore away from our locked eyes. I then looked up again, glossy-eyed, thinking of what had happened that day.

"I wasn't always the calm-_ish_ lioness you see today, I was once, a few months ago, actually, worse than my father, the pride leader. I used to torture the animals I would eat until they had themselves begging to be killed. I would just laugh in their face and continue to break their bones ever so slowly. Sick, I know, but it was how I was raised. It wasn't until one day I had realized how horrible I had become.

The day I _killed_ my family."

**Ooh cliffhanger. XD Just a little warning to all, my stories are kinda **_**dark**_**, compare to the original Madagascar, but I find it makes more logic sense, like if someone just stabbed your best friend your not gonna be all like: "Oh my goodness! You're a big bully, aren't you?" MA, NO!! you're gonna be like: "YOU ASSHOLE! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THAT! WHY!? NOOOOO!!" Right? I think so XD Review please!!**


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter 4

I tried to ignore Alex's mortified expression as I continued, "I was very close with my mother and my brother. I had made it clear to Father not to raise Brother the way he had raised me, I wanted to save him from himself, but I couldn't do anything about saving him from me.

I was coming home later and later, out hunting with Father and torturing poor unfortunate spirits, and Mother was beginning to get concerned, so I lied to her, something I regret dearly now." I took a deep breath as I tried un-successively held back tears.

"Then, one night, I lost it. I had just came back from hunting with Father and the adrenalin was still pumping through my veins and I wanted to continue to kill…

Brother was asking me many meaningless questions in concern to my mood, and he was annoying me… I hadn't even known what I was doing until I was practically bathed in blood, Brother lying motionless on the floor. I stared at his figure, wide-eyed and stared at my own unsheathed claws drenched in fresh blood," I shuddered involuntarily and let my tears fall freely now.

I took a second to risk a glance at Alex. He was just staring at me, expression hard and cold, waiting for me to continue. I took another deep breath as the memories played in my mind, haunting my every thought.

"I vaguely noticed Mother walk in the room until I heard her screaming at me. I started sobbing uncontrollably and hyperventilating, not wanting to believe what I had just done, I was clutching onto Mother, and she just placed a paw over my back and started rubbing comfortingly. That's when I heard the sickening laugh that continues to haunt me in the present,

Father stood there, laughing at his son's corpse. He turned to me with a crazed look in his eyes and said 'Now, you're as cold hearted as me.' He said as he took Mother and… and he… just to prove he was still the worst… he killed her right in front of me," I started sobbing into Alex's mane, clutching onto him for dear life, "laughing and saying over and over 'No one is worse than me! No one! Isn't that right, Kalixes? And he would laugh malevolently.

That night, those two stars appeared in the sky," I finished, referring to the stars I had pointed at previously. I started getting back control over my emotions and took a few steps away from Alex.

"So, you were right about me, I am a cold hearted predator that just wants to escape her fate. I understand if you never want to see me again." I said as I got up silently and started walking away, until a paw gripped my shoulder tightly and spun me around quickly. I stared at Alex, wide-eyed; as his eyes were coated with unshed tears.

"Don't go," he whispered hoarsely, trying to hold back his own the tears. "It must have been horrible, not being able to control yourself like that," he said, taking a deep breath himself, sitting down again and motioning me to sit next to him. I hesitatingly sat down.

"I was born and raised in a zoo, I've known Marty and the others since I was born, well, except for Melman, he was transferred from the Bronx, anyways, we were never told that in reality, I'm predator and they're prey, so we're always been best friends.

Then, on Marty's birthday, he left in the middle of the night to try and catch a train to Connecticut, wanting to experience the wide-open fields. Naturally we chased after him, but when we found him the people found out we had escaped and they got really mad, so we all got a zoo transfer,

But it didn't exactly go according to plan. The crazy penguins had taken over the ship and made a sharp turn, tossing all our crates overboard. When I woke up, I was in Madagascar, the wild.

At first, it was going okay, I was really angry at Marty for getting us transferred, but it was going good. We had met some of the locals, lemurs; there was a king, King Julian XII, who were being tortured by the Foosa, other predators like myself, not as big as a lion but still as vicious, anyway, they were afraid of me, and Julian came up with a plan to make us their friends so we can protect them, but Maurice, Julian's assistant, had seconds thoughts, he knew I was a predator but Julian wouldn't listen.

I hadn't eaten for days and my energy was very low, but Marty wanted to race and play around, so of course I did. It was probably the biggest mistake of my life. When the adrenalin started pumping through my veins, my instincts started kicking in, and I felt different, like a real lion, and I started seeing everyone as steaks. It didn't hit me until I bit Marty that I was dangerous, and even after that I lost it and nearly killed him." Tears started flowing freely now, from his eyes and mine.

After that, I knew I could never stay friends with Marty and the others again, so I exiled myself completely from them. I traveled all the way to the predator side and made it so that if I tried to leave I would be stabbed with the spears I made.

Then Marty came back, he told me that the boat had came back but I was still seeing everything that moves as my dinner, and almost swiped him, but he still wouldn't leave," he said, smiling sadly at the memory.

"He wouldn't give up on me and I didn't want to admit it but I was touched. But he had forgotten we were still on the predator side of the island, and the Foosa started chasing after him. I had pretended I was trying to kill him, and then turned around and started attacking the Foosa. After that the penguins introduced me to fish. And that's pretty much the story," he said, eyes glistening as his gaze moved to mine.

"I know it's not the same, but I know it's hard to stay in control of our instincts, but the fact that you're fighting it every day, it shows your trustworthy, its admirable, the effort you put in, and I don't think of you any less than before, you're still my friend," he said, ending it with a smile.

I broke down into tears, sobbing into his mane again. _How could he be so _understanding_? Doesn't he get that I'm a monster?_

"Why are you being so nice to me? I don't deserve it!" I cried, still clutching onto him. He broke away a bit and stared at me with sympathetic eyes.

"I was too quick to judge you. You didn't do anything threatening to us, you practically _killed _yourself trying to stall for us, and your going out of your way to try and make us safe. I was wrong and I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you. I know I apologized before but… I doubt you'll be able to forgive me for the way I acted-"

"Dude, you _saved_ my _life_! Consider yourself forgiven _and_ that I owe you one!" I interrupted, laughing a little, wiping my tears away. He just smiled and nodded, I then realized I was still hugging his and let go almost immediately. I heard him chuckle softly before speaking.

"Let's go back," he said quietly, getting up and holding out a paw for me. I nodded and took his paw, and started jogging back to my not-so-secret spot, glad that I had let go a horrible memory, and gained a new happy one that I would never forget.

* * *

**I apologize that this one was a little short, but if I continued it would waaaay too big a chapter XD Review and 'till next time!**


	5. Chapter Five

**Finally! The long-awaited chapter is here! I am so sorry everyone, it was totally not cool making you all wait this long, but I kept to my promise! I just got off punishment, sooo here's chapter 5 everyone! =D**

Chapter 5

I couldn't help but glance back at Alex every five seconds, thinking that this was all just a dream and that he'd leave, but every time I looked, he was still there, smiling only like he could.

As we neared the savannah, an unfamiliar sound became louder and louder, getting faster and repeating itself over and over. I looked over at Alex with a bewildered expression, but he responded with a giant grin and started running faster towards the savannah.

"C'mon, Kali! I can't believe it; the fuzzbuckets are back!" he shouted until his figure disappeared from sight.

I stared puzzled for a split second before speeding up myself, curiosity taking over, wanting to see these 'Fuzzbuckets'. The noise became so loud that it began to change the rhythm of my heartbeat, making me slightly more nervous. I tried calling out to Alex but he couldn't hear over the loud roars of the unfamiliar noise _plus_ his own roars of happiness.

Then suddenly, I stopped. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped to the floor, my eyes never leaving the thousands of lemurs dancing around the savannah.

"What in the-"

"**I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT, I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE, I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT, YA LIKE TO?**"

"**MOVE IT!!**"

The large group of animals where jumping up and down to the rhythm, all dancing in sync to the hypnotic beat. I noticed Alex and the gang among those that where dancing, but quickly they disappeared from sight.

"GUYS!!! STOP THIS DAMNED NOISE FOR ONE SECOND! EVERYONE! PLEASE! WE CAN'T MAKE TOO MUCH NOISE, WE'LL GET **CAUGHT**!" I tried desperately to shout over the noise, in fear that Father and the pride may show up.

I growled in spite of my incapability to shut them all up, and, instinctively, I let out an ear splitting snarl, followed by an incredulously loud roar, but didn't come from me.

Immediately, my heart picked up speed as I turned around. Expecting to see Father readying the pride to tear us all up, I was surprised when I didn't see any other lions. I was even more puzzled when I saw that it was from none other than Alex. I thought he had been happy about the lemurs' re-appearance?

All was silent for a moment. Then they all exploded into a thunderous applause. "That's the roar that drove the Foosa away!" said Alex slightly smugly.

Then one of the lemurs stood taller than the other ones, he was standing on stilts, and he had a pineapple-like crown on its head with a live gecko on it.

"It was my plan! My plan had worked! Wasn't my plan genius everybody?" Shouted out the crowned lemur. Alex and the others rolled their eyes as the other lemurs let out yet another roar of applause.

One of the lemurs then turned towards me and did a double take. I had a déjà vu from when I first met the gang, except this was slightly different since instead of shouting out 'Lion!' he shouted out; "THE **FOOSA**! THE FOOSA ARE **ATTACKING**!" He cried out while pointing at me. Then, just like that, all of them started freaking out.

"MISTER ALEX, THE FOOSA HAVE RETURNED! BACK TO THE PLAN!!!" Shouted the one on stilts as he hid behind Gloria, a short and fat one followed the crowned one.

Alex gave a doubtful look and then stared at what was 'the Foosa' and burst into laughter when he realized it was just me. "Aw, you guys. Kali is just as-" another round of laughter "-'dangerous' as _I_ am!"

"Oh, so she's just another pansy?" asked the crowned one as he walked up to me and poked my arm, no fear whatsoever in his eyes. I glowered at the lemur angrily.

"I am **not** a pansy," I growled through clenched teeth, gritting them together in prevention from lashing out at the creature just to prove how much of a 'pansy' I am. Alex noticed my struggling and quickly picked up the Fuzzbucket and placed it farther away from me.

"Now, Julian, I don't think you should-"

"Look at her! She's so cute! Mister Alex is right! How can something like _that_ be dangerous in any way?" the 'King' kept going on and on until I couldn't take it anymore and stormed off into the forest.

"I'm not cute," I muttered angrily.

It was times like this that that made me wonder if it was better to be feared or to be loved… _NO!_ I mentally smacked myself. _Being feared sucked! And it was because of that mother and brother died… but still… not being taken seriously is so annoying!_ I was mentally arguing with myself for what seemed like hours, and I was so caught up within my own thoughts I didn't notice myself subconsciously walking towards my old home, back to the predator side. I vaguely noticed the sky gradually turning to a darker tone, the wind picked up slightly.

It wasn't until a vicious snarl ripped through the air that I finally came back to my senses. I quickly got into an attacking position, crouched down, that is until I heard the snarl again.

I quickly realized that it was only one lion that had snarled, _why would they only send one after me? Father knows I can easily take one down…_ I followed the sound of footsteps in curiosity. I heard the snarl again; no… not _snarl_ more a whimper… Suddenly, Kaeri jumped out of the bushes and latched her arms around me. I was about to swipe at her when I heard something even stranger than a whimper… was she… _crying?_

"Oh Kali! Y-your dad! H-he's just s-so…" she broke down into more sobs. I pushed her away from me and took a few steps back. She curled herself into a ball and continued to sob. "H-he's losing it, K-Kali! H-he sent the p-pride to g-get me! A-all I did w-was ask if h-he was going to f-forgive you y-yet," she looked up at me, eyes shimmering with tears. I glared at her, not believing it one bit. "You've got to b-believe me, Kali! I… I've got nowhere else to go!" she latched onto my leg and continued to cry. I shook her off.

"Now that is just demeaning, Kaeri! Get a hold of yourself! I know you're just here to try and take me back to the pride to get killed," I said coldly, glowering down at her. She looked at me with fake shock and hurt by my words.

"How can you say that!? I-I lost everything because I-I wanted you back-" she continued her fake story until a familiar voice overlapped her own.

"Kali? Where are ya?! Kali!" I heard Alex chant. I looked at Kaeri for a moment and saw a familiar glint in her eyes. It was her 'I just got an idea' glint. Then she ran at full speed to Alex.

I quickly chased after her, screaming out "Alex! Look out! Its one of the-" I stopped instantly and my jaw dropped to the floor at what I saw. Kaeri literally threw herself at Alex and was now crying on his shoulder, arms around his neck tightly so he couldn't pull away even if he wanted to. _If_ he wanted to.

Alex stared at the crying lioness in confusion and shock. He patted her back awkwardly. She pulled herself away from him for a moment and pointed at me, then went back to crying. He then patted her back once more, whispered something to her, she nodded and him let go. He then walked up to me and sighed.

"Kali, let's keep her around," he said. My eyes widened larger as he spoke those words.

"What the HELL are you SAYING!? This is one of the lioness' that tried to KILL US, or did you forget!?" I whisper/shouted at him. He looked back at Kaeri for a moment, and she stared back at him with her 'large shimmering eyes' thing. He sighed again.

"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously "She doesn't _seem_ dangerous…"

"Yes! Exactly! She doesn't _seem_ dangerous, doesn't mean she isn't! Trust me on this!" I pleaded. I knew she was going to hurt them and hurt them badly. He looked back at her once more and she mouthed the word 'Please'. He stared back at me, confusion in his eyes.

"I… I… don't know…" he said quietly. She then ran up to him and flung her arms around his neck and cuddled against him in a slutty manner.

"Pleaaaase? Why would I lie to the King of New York?" she asked in a seductive tone. My eye twitched slightly.

"W-well… I-I guess it would b okay…" he stuttered. She smiled a huge smile and caressed his face with her paw.

"Aww… thank you sooo much… Alex, was it?" she smiled and let him go. He smiled guiltily before turning around and going back to the party.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Kaeri turned to me, the devious glint returning to her eyes as she smiled maliciously. "Too bad you like the guy who's seducible, huh Kali?" She smiled with fake innocence at my glare. "C'mon, we'll have a lot of fun together! It'll be just like old times, when I always get the guy," she spoke the last six words slowly and maliciously.

"He won't fall for the same trick twice, Kaeri. He's not stupid." I spat coldly at her. She only chuckled.

"Really? 'Cause he seemed that stupid." She laughed coldly. "See you back at the savannah!" she said with fake happiness and excitement.

_Alex won't fall for it again… will he?_


	6. Chapter Six

**Okay, no excuses AT ALL for how long I made you guys wait and I'm so sorry!! :'( I hit a total wall with writers block. But now it's overcome! Yaaay!!! [[crowd cheers]] I'm sure most of you will hate me for this chapter… but enjoy it anyways!!**

Chapter 6

Days, weeks maybe even months had passed since Kaeri came back, and it was not going too well. The atmosphere at the savannah was overwhelmingly cheerful all the time. I found myself taking longer walks and longer hunts, to the point where I wouldn't even go back at all for long periods of time.

The worst part of all though; they didn't even notice it. Kaeri sucked up to everyone and completely took me out of the picture. It was as if I didn't exist anymore to them. I thought at least Alex would notice my lack of presence but he didn't even give me a passing glance. He was too busy with _her_. It seemed that the only one who noticed my absence was Kaeri, and she would only rub it in my face even more. I remember a few days ago she was sitting in Alex's lap and she turned towards me and laughed in my face.

"Looking a little lonely there, aren't ya, Kali?" she had asked. I scowled at her and turned away. Alex turned his head ever so slightly and noted my presence.

"Oh… hey Kali" he said bluntly. He then turned his attention back to Kaeri and that was it. Nothing else. Only acknowledgment of my presence. Then, one day, everything went downhill.

It started off normally. I woke up then went to a nearby pond for hunting, only instead of the usual silence that lingered in the air, a bloodcurdling scream pierced through it. I immediately ran back to the savannah, not bothering to clean up after hunting the fish.

When I arrived at the savannah, I saw Marty unconscious on the ground and a bloodstained Kaeri standing next to him. She glanced at me and gave me her evil smirk, then dashed off into the forest. I would've chased after her if Marty wasn't badly hurt. I ran up to him quickly and inspected the wound. He had large claw gashes on his left side, not to mention a deep bite mark right above his right front leg.

"MELMAN!! EMERGECY!! GET OVER HERE, MARTY'S DOWN!!" I shouted out loudly but no one came. I growled quietly. "Where are those guys?" I asked myself, finally noticing that everyone was missing from the savannah.

Suddenly, quick and loud footsteps entered the savannah and the sound of Kaeri's distasteful voice filled the air. "You see!? I tried telling her to stop, but she just wouldn't! Kali, how could you do this!?" I quickly whipped my face around to stare at her in pure horror. Standing next to her were Gloria, Melman and Alex. They all had horror-struck expressions, but the worst one was Alex's. His face was a combination between horror, betrayal, disbelief and pure rage.

I shook my head quickly and viciously. "W-what?! I didn't do this! This was your doing, Kaeri! Don't even try to deny it!" I shouted angrily. First, she takes my place in the group and now she tries framing me for attacking Marty!?

"As I see, and I think everyone else here does, you're the only one that's got blood splattered all over you." She said slightly smugly. I looked down and mentally cursed myself for not cleaning up. I glared at Kaeri and noticed that she had cleaned herself up before coming back here. I saw Alex's jaw and fists clench. I took a small step back.

"That's because I just ran here from hunting the fish! C'mon, you guys know I'd never…" my voice trailed off after seeing the expressions on their faces.

Gloria's face was hard, unreadable, yet obviously showing anger. Melman looked mortified and showed no trace of disbelief at Kaeri's words. And Alex… his eyes were so intensely fixed on my every movement that I found it hard to breathe under his stare, as if any moment I made, he would pounce and rip me to shreds. Tears welled up in my eyes at their response to Kaeri's lies. I shook my head, horrorstruck.

"You guys know I wouldn't do this! Why are you believing _her_!?" I shrieked loudly as shut my eyes tightly, allowing tears to roll down my face as I began trembling in anger and betrayal. Then, ever so swiftly, an arm was raised up and punched me straight in the face, the pressure making me trip over Marty's unconscious body and falling on the floor. I opened my eyes in shock and held my cheek, staring up at Alex, now having pure hatred in his eyes rather than disbelief. He clenched his fists so tightly that they began to shake. He glowered down at me and raised his arm again, but put it back down. He took a deep breath and pointed to the forest.

"Get out. Get the hell out of here right now." He said as he tried hiding the anger in his voice but it was clearly still present. I stared at him, shocked.

"Wha…what?" I asked shakily.

"Get the fuck OUT!" he roared angrily, readying his arm for another swing. I got up quickly.

"Don't you get it!? This is all apart of that little bitch's plan! She wants me out of here so that she can get the pride here to kill you guys! Why don't you understand!?" I yelled out, pointing at Kaeri. "I should've killed you when I had the chance!" I turned back to them. "Or do you not remember when they came here searching for YOU GUYS wanting to KILL YOU and EAT YOU!!" I turned away from Alex "But that doesn't matter as long as you have your precious little Kaeri there to sit in your lap and do various other things that I don't even want to think about! I guess the safety of you and your friends,-" I pointed at Marty "Don't matter as long as YOUR satisfied, HUH ALEX!?!" I shrieked loudly. The savannah was quiet for a moment.

Kaeri turned to me "Oh please, as if they'd believe your petty story, Kali. You and I both know I'm not as evil as you, not with the things you've done," she said with a glint in her eyes. Alex looked at me then turned to Melman and Gloria.

"She's making it all up," he started "Only a completely psycho-killer could come up with a scheme like that," he glared at me "And we've got one right here." He finished.

I didn't even have time to react to what he said, for I was already on the ground with claws ripping my fur from every angle. Then, strong arms picked me up and threw me roughly on the ground. I didn't realize I was closing my eyes until I opened them and Alex's eyes and mine met. His bloodstained claws retracted as he pointed a finger at me.

"Never. Come. Back" he spat out each word. Then he turned and ran away.

I stayed sitting there for a few minutes, taking in what just happened, and when I realized what did, my eyes overflowed with tears. _He fell for it… again…_


	7. Chapter Seven

**Lmao to the reviews XD I knew you guys wouldn't have liked that! Thanks to everyone who R&R! I 3 YOU ALL~! And here, early for once, a new chapter!! ******

Chapter 7

I didn't move for quite a long time. I saw animals walk around within the bushes and I felt eyes on me, but I just sat there, lifeless. The first time I opened up my heart in a long time, I get betrayed. _Again_. That was the only word going through my mind for what seemed like an eternity. _Again… it happened again… again…_ I thought over and over until a familiar voice echoed loudly through the air. It wasn't until then did I realize where Alex had left me.

"My, my. What do we have here? A pathetic young lioness whose been left here to die all alone? If only she stayed with her pride and not betrayed her father, she wouldn't be in this situation right now. Ah, if only. But, this young lioness was born with emotions, stupid little thing. Should've got rid of it when you had the chance." He mocked as he walked closer over to me until his face and familiar tanned mane came in sight.

"Leave me be, father," a voice said, surely not my own. It sounded too dead and broken to be mine.

"Why so sad, child? So your friends betrayed you _again_, it's old news, really," he said. His words echoed painfully in my mind as I felt an invisible shard pierce through my chest.

"Leave me alone. You got your wish; you ruined my life yet again just to prove your still in control. What more do you want from me?" I asked sadly and weakly. I saw him shook his head.

"Ahh, little pitiful Kalixes, do you really want to know why I do the things I do?" he asked, but didn't give me time to answer, "You see, when I first noticed you weren't hunting with the rest of us, I had let it go, but then I saw the hunting trips got longer and longer and that eventually you didn't come home until morning. That had me intrigued. What were you doing, where were you and who were you with? Those questions mocked me for days until I couldn't take it anymore.

"I had my best lions follow you, and they saw what you called 'hunting'. They were disgusted and quite frankly when they told me about your 'hunting', I was humiliated. My own daughter, my only heir to Alpha lion wasn't even taking her role seriously in keeping the forest's natural balance in order. It had to be taken care of. That's the night when I spoke to you and warned you that you had to begin acting like a real lioness. You lied and said you were then left off to bed. The next day, you didn't come back at all. For days you didn't return and I got angry. Thinking you can just leave whenever you please and not listen to your father? I wouldn't allow that. By the time you came back, I had already ordered all the lions and lionesses in the pride to attack and bring you to me as soon as they saw you.

"Right when I was about to speak to you and try and convince you to stay on the pride, Myro, one of the lions I sent to spy on you, told me of some interesting news. That you were _babysitting_ some _herbivores_ that, dear daughter, was too much. One thing is only hunting fish, at least then your still hunting, but staying around your _prey_!? _Protecting _them!? It was clear that your mind was made up, that you wanted to help the prey, save them from _me_. There was nothing left to do. You had to be taken care of, but when that other lion came for you… I'll admit I was surprised. I didn't think there would be more than one lion protecting prey; you're all tainted, corrupted. I had to stop it from spreading.

"That's when I sent Kaeri to you. Her mission was to gain the trust of the herbivores and the lion to the point where if she attacked one of them and blamed you for it, they would believe her over you. That way you could be out of the picture and we would have more of a chance against one lion then two." He finally finished. It took me a moment to process what he was saying.

"Wait… what do you mean by 'I had to stop it from spreading'?" I asked, finally some emotion appearing in my voice; panic. With those words, a large smirk appeared on his face.

"My master plan… getting rid of the tainted. Nothing will get in my way, especially you, dear daughter, because now, anything you say to them will result in a fight, or worse." He crawled over and sat next to me and I felt his arm go over my shoulder and rest on it.

"It doesn't have to be that way for you though, Kalixes. You saw what they did to you. They don't deserve to be protected. They'll be dead soon anyways. I am your only remaining family, Kalixes. Come back to the pride and get your killing instincts back, join us in destroying the hope that is of a non-hunting predator!" then his arm slipped around my neck and he squeezed it tightly.

"If you refuse my offer… you'll suffer the same fate as them." He ended as he removed his arm and got up. "Think about it, Kalixes and don't make the wrong choice." He said before darting off into the forest. I rested my head on my knees for a while, thinking over what he said.

_If I go back to the pride… I'll have to forget everything. The fishing, the metal bird, Gloria, Melman, Marty… and Alex… If I go back… I'll have to get rid of all those memories and my emotions. If I go back… I know I'll become a heartless killer again… and I doubt I'll be able to snap out of it a second time… if I don't go back… If I try telling Alex and the rest of them what happened, they'll probably call me a liar and beat me up again… not to mention father will kill me too… But… I-I don't know what to do… Will I even be able to go back to the heartless killer I was? I don't think so… too many terrible things has happened when I was one… I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't._

Then I felt something bump into me. I looked down and saw that fuzzbucket that called me cute. He stared up at me with his big brown eyes. "Hey freak! Why so sad?" he asked I shook my head and ignored him. He waved his hands in front of my face. "Hellllllllouuu!! Anyone theeeeeeere??" he shouted out loudly. I sighed.

"What do you want?" I asked annoyed.

"Why aren't you back at the savannah with Mister Alex? They've-," he was interrupted by a panting voice nearby.

"_Gasp… gasp… _Julian!" I heard the fatter lemur shout from behind. He caught up and sat next to Julian.

"Oh there you are, Maurice. Look who I found! It's the pansy!" he said cheerfully. I was too tired to even bother arguing with him. Maurice looked at me.

"Where have you been? I'm sure you heard about what happened to Marty, you shouldn't be here right now, they need you there with them!" I shook my head.

"No they don't… they just need their precious Kaeri, that's all they need and nothing else matters to them." I spat angrily. Julian cocked his head to the side.

"What? Oh the other lioness. Not much fun to be around, you know. She left a while ago, actually." He said, looking straight ahead.

"Really." I said without emotion. "You guys should get outta here… not many pleasant things are going to happen soon,"

"But we don't have to worry about that, not with you around, Kalixes~ Even if they're paying more attention to Kaeri, we all know that if it came down to personality and commitment, you'd win without a doubt!" said Julian cheerfully.

"Alex and the others don't seem to think so." I muttered sadly. I felt Julian pat my back.

"Poor little lioness. You're sad just like Alex. He's been really sad, ever since you left, actually." My eyes turned to him in surprise.

"Really?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. The lemur nodded.

"Yup… I heard him say stuff about feeling terrible and that he'd never be forgiven or something like that… then he started yelling at that Kaeri lioness and she left and didn't come back." My jaw dropped for a moment. _Kaeri's charms didn't work? Is that even _possible_?_ "Let's go back, Maurice. I'm hungry."

"Sure Julian." Said Maurice, already getting up. Julian got up and started walking away.

"Bye Kali! Hope you feel better soon!" his voice drifted off as he got farther in the forest.

…_I really need to think things over…_

~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~

By nightfall, I had made my decision. It may not have been the smartest decision, but I had to make it work, and I don't care how many lives would be broken, it just had to work. For once, luck had to be on my side.

Father came back before the brink of dawn, he woke me up and I was slightly surprised to see three other lions with him. They all looked different, but exactly alike in everyway. Their movements, their faces, pointed yet chiseled and their manes were all a dark brown, yet with a golden shine. The only thing different about them was their eyes. One of them were a light brown and they held more compassion in them than fierceness, the second one had blue eyes and looked very angry yet hurt reflected in his eyes, and the last one were a jade green with a mixture of compassion, killer instincts and deviousness.

"So, dear daughter. Have you made your decision?" he asked, but first I wanted my own questions answered.

"Who are they?" I asked, looking at the three lions that stood further away, within the shadows. Father turned his head slightly to look at them.

"Myro," he pointed to the blue-eyed one, "Linux," he pointed at the jade-eyed one "Zuri," He said, pointing to the brown-eyed one. They all nodded at me. I returned it.

"What are they here for?" I asked, turning my attention back to father. His eyes glinted.

"Depending on your answer, their orders for being here will change." He said and I nodded, "So, Kalixes, what is your choice?" I took a deep breath before answering.

"I will rejoin the pride."


	8. Chapter Eight

**Sorry if this chapter's a little dry, guys, but it's just a build up for the master chapter that will be coming up soon ;) I LOVE YOU ALL WHO READ!!! And the people who review, your my favorites~~! =^.^= [[Lol and thanks for permission for using the kitty, Prinzzez-kitten ;P]]**

Chapter 8

Father gave me a huge grin before patting me on the back. "That's my girl," he said happily as I hid my shock. Father has never done _that_ before. I recomposed myself before answering.

"So… what's the plan?" I asked as we began walking away. Myro, Linux and Zuri walked closely behind and I felt their tension rising in the air, as if anything I did that would be disapproving to father; they'd have me in a headlock instantly. I saw father smirk out of the corner of my eye.

"Ah, ah, ah, dear daughter. Just incase your going to turn on us, I can't give away too much information." He said.

"I won't turn on the pride again, father" I replied almost instantly.

"Hm. If you say so," he said and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. I mentally shook my head. This time, I was going to fall through with the plan, no matter what happens it won't change my mind.

As we walked through the forest, I could feel the other animals fear sparking as they began trembling with our presence in the forest. I took a deep breath and remembered what it was like to have all the creatures quivering in fear at the very thought of your name. It made my stomach turn in nostalgia.

Finally we arrived back at the pride grounds, the large lands filled with lots of dirt and not much grass, dead trees and plenty of rocks for pride members to lie down on and sleep, but there was one that stood out the most. A large rock, as high as a baobab tree was carved into the shape of a lion, carved by the very first alpha lion of the pride, Kanaifu many decades ago. It was named the Alpha rock. This is where father, mother, brother and I used to sleep. I felt the eyes of all the pride members stare at me, shocked by my presence. Father stood on top of the alpha rock and roared loudly, to get their attention.

"Everyone! Kalixes has rejoined the pride! Keep an eye on her to make sure she stays in line, and if anything happens you come to me! Understood?" he shouted and everyone shouted yes back. Father climbed down from the rock and I walked up to him.

"Well… if your not going to tell me what the plan is, what do you want me to do? I asked. He tapped his chin and thought for a moment. "You're to train with Linux," he said and at the sound of his name, Linux's ears perked up. He walked up to father.

"You called?" he asked. Father turned his head in my direction.

"Give her the basics of what she'll need to know for the plan, but don't give too much away." He said before walking away. I heard Linux sigh. He turned around.

"Hey. I'm Linux. You're Kalixes," he said and I flinched slightly by the use of my full name.

"Er… Kali is fine, thanks. Nice to meet you," I said, putting out my hand. He stared at it for a moment until I dropped it. "So… this 'master plan' thing… care to tell me a bit about it?" Linux pondered for a moment, nodded and started walking away. I caught up to him but he just kept walking until we reached the training grounds.

"You want to know what the plan is? Can't tell you that, sweetheart. But what I can tell you is that there's gonna be a lot of fighting coming up in the near future, a lot of fighting with the ones you were trying to protect just a few days ago, but seeing you here with us, I guess you don't really care much for them anymore, huh?" he asked. Memories of them went through my mind for a second. I bit my lip.

"None at all," I said firmly. He nodded before crouching down.

"I know you know how to fight, my task is to reignite the flames for your instincts. Are you ready?" he asked. I got into the position and nodded. "Go!"

For the next few minutes, we were tackling, clawing and snapping at each other, both trying to hurt the other. I wasn't trying too hard, however. I barely knew the guy! It's not like he ever did anything to me. Come to think of it… I don't think he was at the ceremony, either… Suddenly, I felt claws dig deeply in my side as I yelped out in pain and jumped back, crouching down protectively. He got up and shook his head, looking at me through narrowed eyes.

"You're holding back on me, Kali," he said angrily. He crouched down again. "If you don't fight me back properly, you're going to regret it." He said coldly as he charged at me again. He swiped at me multiple times but I dodged all of them, remembrance of my old fighting skills coming back to me as I remembered one of my favorite ones, the roll-flip-counter, and so I used it. Right when he was going to claw at me, I rolled on my side, getting behind him, jumped on his back and clawed at his shoulder. He tried shaking me off but it didn't work. I smirked at his incompetence. "Alright! That's enough!" I heard someone shout before arms grabbed mine and pulled me off of Linux. For a moment I snapped at everything that came close to me until I realized I wasn't fighting anymore and stopped. I shook my head and tried to forget what just happened. _I can't loose myself to the instincts… not again._ Then I heard someone clap, snapping me out of my momentary trans.

I saw father walk to us as he continued clapping. "Wonderful work, Linux! It worked!" he said somewhat happily.

I heard Linux mumble "Yeah thanks…"

Then father turned to me, "And you… I didn't think it would be that easy for you to remember how to fight! Kudos to you. However, I don't think it would be vital to the plan if you injure one of our most powerful lions. When it's enough, it's enough. Understood?" he asked and I nodded.

By nighttime, I had finished my training with Linux and he seemed impressed, and I was happy for that. I needed to remember my skills for when my own plan begins to take place, and it would be pretty soon by my count, considering that father gave us extra food that night, (which I was actually quite sickened to eat) which he usually did before a big hunt to build up our strength.

Father led my to my old sleeping area and left me some time alone. I lied down on the rock and stared up at the sky. I had carved my way through the rock in my sleeping area so I can see the stars at night, I wanted to say goodnight to my entire family before sleeping. However this night, after my usual goodnights, I had something I hadn't had in a long time. I dreamt.

_Dream~~_

_I ran away from the predator side because all the pride members were chasing me with they claws unsheathed and repeating "Betrayal, betrayal". When I ran over to Alex's side for help, Kaeri was there and she stopped me from going to there side, the pride members got closer and closer and Kaeri just laughed at me, saying "Stupid little Kali… even if I wasn't here, they'd still leave you to get killed by your own pride. When I turned around, Alex was on the other side, fighting off the other pride members, including father. Gloria, Melman and Marty were also distracting them. _

"_Kali! Get out of here while you still can!" shouted Alex frantically._

"_Kalixes, kill them now!" shouted father._

"_Kali!"_

"_Kalixes!"_

"_ALEX!!"_

_Then, Father raised his arm, with his unsheathed claws at Alex. Alex looked at me one more time before getting killed by my own father._

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" I shrieked loudly, jumping off of the rock quickly as I took small shallow breaths, trembling violently from the fear of the dream. A couple of lions and lionesses ran to me from the sudden shriek of fear, thinking they were getting attacked. After seeing there was nothing out of the ordinary, they left, cursing left and right for being woken up so early. I held my arms around my waist, rocking back and forth, telling myself it was only a dream, then realizing that it would only be a dream the day Alex would try to protect me. I allowed tears to roll down my face for a while. Then I whipped away my tears and put on a look of determination.

_That's it._ I thought to myself. _No matter what, this plan __has__ to work. Whether I survive or not, it has to work._


	9. Author's Note

Wanted: Suggestions & Ideas

Alright guys, I know I've been MIA for a couple months now from this story and I have terrible news.

After reading a few new reviews I got a couple days ago (Thanks so much, by the way! :D) I finally decided that I would start writing again. Unfortunately when I opened up word I saw that the chapter I was working on had ended in mid-sentence, so now I can't remember what I wanted to write and I've drawing a total blank.

I've got the main plotline written down, but I need a couple filler chapters before the main plotline kicks back in. That's where your help comes in! :D

Pleaaaaase give me some of your ideas and I'll bake you a virtual cookie 3

I love you and thanks so much for sticking with this story! =)

-Rei


	10. Chapter Nine

**OMG IS IT A NEW CHAPTER?? IT IS! *Gasp*! Thanks to you guys who helped me out, giving me ideas and all :D If you've ever got some more ideas you'd like to share, just post 'em up and I'll most likely add it in!**

**Rock on && I love you guys!**

Chapter 9

It's been a couple of weeks since I rejoined the pride and everything was going quite smoothly. They all seemed to forget that I had betrayed that in the first place, and that was working fabulously for me. It was only a matter of time until father revealed the master plan the rest of the pride members and I and then everything would change. I had been getting a little worried, however. Father had his eyes on me and he ordered everyone else to watch me also, I hadn't done anything wrong, but every time a lion or lioness walked up to me, panic started arising, and it gave me little time to recompose myself. It seemed okay for now though, I just had to keep it up for a while and it would all be worth it.

One morning, while I was doing my daily rounds of checking the pride grounds, Linux ran up to me in a panic. "Kali! Kali! There's trouble! Myro was attacked!" he shouted at me. I gave him a puzzled look but he just grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the center area of the pride grounds, where everyone was gathering. I saw father standing up on the alpha rock and he cleared his throat, instantly making everyone shut up.

"As you may have already heard… one of our lions have been attacked. Myro went searching for Kaeri," I felt a burning fire of hatred build up inside of me after hearing her name "-after she failed to meet at the appointed time. When Myro arrived at the savannah, well, let's just say he wasn't welcomed." He pointed to one of the caverns "He's currently being treated, so we don't have all the details. Proceed with extreme caution. This event will not be tolerated! We shall proceed with the plan as soon as Myro's healed. That is all." Finished father, then he left. Quickly, everyone left and continued what they were doing before. I saw Linux shake his head.

"Those stupid outsiders… thinking they can come here and take over just like that!?" he said angrily as he squeezed my arm tightly.

"Ow, Linux!" I said angrily, grabbing my arm back. He didn't seem to notice, he was too caught up in his own anger.

"When I get my hands on those guys… they'll wish they were dead! Those lousy sons of b-"

"Hey, hey, hey now! Foul language will not make the situation any better then it already is!" I interrupted. "Did you speak to Myro? What happened?" I asked. Linux gritted his teeth.

"All I know is that when he got there, he didn't find the lioness he was looking for. Said he saw a golden-tanned lion, and a bunch of other preys. One of them seemed badly injured, he said, oh but the best part was that this lion wasn't hunting them, oh _no_, he was _protecting_ them! That's gotta be the most selfish asshole in existence!" he said through clenched teeth.

"Why would that be selfish? I mean, he's protecting the others, isn't he?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Linux gave me his 'are-you-kidding-me' look.

"Of course it's selfish! By that lion protecting the prey, he is stopping the natural flow of nature and the food chain cycle! It's sickening to see someone wanting to mess up our world like that." He said frustratingly. All I did was nod.

"I'm going to go check up on Myro… want to come?" I asked but he shook his head, rage still burning in his eyes.

"No way… I'm gonna go find that bastard and rip him to shreds! No one messes with my little brother!" he shouted angrily before darting into the forest.

"Wait! Linux…!" I shouted after him, but he was already out of earshot and eyesight. "… just… don't find them…" I muttered under my breath. I walked over to the emergency cavern.

It was one of the larger caverns, next to the Alpha rock, and sure enough, there was Myro, lying down on the cold hard rock, staring at the ceiling. Linux wasn't wrong to be panicked, Myro looked awful. Hard to believe Alex would do something like _that_. He had large and deep gashes on his chest and forearms, and he even managed a swipe right under his cheek. I sat next to him.

"What brings you here, Kali?" asked Myro, his eyes not moving from the ceiling.

"Just checking up on you. What I want to know is, _what_ brought _you_ here?" I asked, looking at him in the corner of my eye. I heard him sigh and turn away from me.

"I don't want to talk about it." He muttered sadly. I rested back and stared at the ceiling.

"It's alright, I got time." I said patiently. Not even a minute passed before he started gushing out all kinds of information.

"I went looking for Kaeri because she's been on time every other time that we've met and it's not like her to be late, anyway. So I went back to the location we sent her at, you know that empty savannah? Yeah, but instead it _wasn't empty._ That lion were there," he said in a hateful tone, glaring at me in the corner of his eyes. "The lion was completely going insane! He kept cursing and attacking anything in its path. I tried calming him down-"

"Meaning you started fighting," I interrupted, rolling my eyes at him. Myro glared at me.

"As I was saying, things started getting out of hand. He started swiping his claws at me." He paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up in realization and narrowed back when he looked at me, "He kept asking for you, if we'd killed you." He stated and my heart literally stopped for a second. _He was… worried?_ "Then just to piss him off, -which was a _very_ bad idea-, I started telling him about how you were helping us to kill him," my mind blurred out for a moment in panic before I remembered the plan. _Oh yeah…_ "That made him crazier! After that there was no more talking, just attacking. I would've been in much worse shape if his prey friends didn't come by to calm him down. I don't understand why they did, though…" his voice trailed off but I had heard all I had to hear. I nodded and got up.

"Thank you, Myro. Hope you get better soon," my voice nearly cracked at the end as I quickly got out of the cavern. I walked over to the training grounds, keeping my 'I'm totally calm' act on until I reached the area. My knees gave out under me and I allowed myself to drop to the floor. My mind kept flashing back to the last time I saw Alex. He had been so violent, nothing but hatred in his eyes and voice. _Why would he suddenly be concerned about me? _I looked up at the cerulean blue sky and sighed sadly. _Oh Alex… what happened to us?_

~*~*~&&~*~*~

"Alex, hon, we're worried about you," said Gloria to her childhood lion friend. Alex' face was stuck in an angry scowl, looking at anywhere but his three concerned friends.

Marty was back on his feet and had explained everything to the trio many days earlier, but it was too late. Kali was long gone and with Alex blinded by rage at his own stupidities, they weren't anywhere near finding her. The meeting with the pride lion didn't help, either. _Kali_ helping_ them_, _blasphemy_! Alex refused to believe it, and the fact that the pride lion continued to insist on it fueled his anger, except deep inside there was this little voice inside Alex that also insisted on Kali's betrayal.

"Yeah, Al. As soon as you snap outta it, we can _really_ go and check things out. 'Cause I'm not sure if it's just me, but I doubt Kali would try and kill us," exclaimed Marty as he nodded, turning towards his friends. Melman and Gloria looked at each other and exchanged doubtful looks. "Oh come on! You don't honestly think she'd try and kill us?" asked Marty as that voice in Alex' head began insisting again. He got up abruptly; his hands tightened into fists and began walking away.

"Wait, Alex! We're not done here yet!" called out Gloria but Alex kept stomping away angrily, into the forest.

"Well I am!" he shouted out in anger as he continued walking.

He had been walking for a while; sometimes punching the trees when that voice popped up again, when a familiar scent wafted up to his nostrils, and as soon as he noticed it, his taker appeared out of the bushes. Alex snarled and bared his teeth.

"Kaeri. So this is where you've been hiding!" he exclaimed angrily, his pupils slitting and his claws extracting. The slutty lioness put her paw up to her mouth and laughed, full-mockingly.

"It took you a while to figure it out," she started, her fake laughter ended, "You were just so upset about little ol' Kali that you didn't even realize," she said in a mocking tone. "Men like you are so pathetic. Despite her being my enemy, she actually _cared_ about you and as soon as you got what you wanted, you didn't need her anymore. _That_ was way harsher than anything I can come up with," she stated, laughing mockingly again. He extended his arm, his claws pointed at her dangerously, his eyes deep with anger, hatred and sorrow, knowing she was right.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," he asked dangerously. She stopped laughing and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, you wouldn't do that," she said with a smirk. He glared and growled at her, not satisfied with her response.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snarled, but instead of answering, she looked over her shoulder. Her smirk grew as she said one more sentence.

"You've got more important things to worry about right now." She said simply before disappearing into the bushes. He was about to run after her when he saw a flash of brown and felt a great deal of pain in his gut. He stumbled for a moment, breathing heavily and gripping his stomach. He looked at his offender.

Linux stood there, glowering with more rage and hate that anyone can imagine. His claws were extracted and were curled tightly into fists. His face was set in a menacing snarl as he glared at the lion that attacked his little brother.

"You," he started, gathering Alex' attention. "You attacked my little brother!" he roared as he charged.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Ohhh my god. I am SO sorry you guys. I promise it's almost over, I SWEAR. Finally, all your reviews of and demands that I continue got through to my THICK SKULL. Its just you know, school and stuff. Gotta apply to colleges so that's been stressing me out**

**BUT I know I can't blame it on anything else cuz I know it's my fault.**

**So I'd like to formally say that I am SORRY to everyone who's been waiting forever for this update, and know that there is maybe one or two chapters left and then its OVERR.**

**Thank you for sticking with me all this time and thanks to all my reviewers/followers! YOU GUYS ROCK MY SOCKS :)**

Chapter 10

I was in the training area, sharpening my claws in preparation for training, but that's not what my mind was on. My eyes kept darting back to the jungle, where Linux had ran off. _He's been gone for a while now_… I thought nervously, whispers of worst-case-scenarios flooding my mind. _What if he found Alex? What if either of them is dead? The plan would be completely compromised… _I bit my lip nervously as I clawed at the ground in slight panic.

I didn't think it could get any worse, until the familiar scent wafted into my senses. I involuntarily snarled, _Kaeri_. Running up to her with so much fury, I could barely contain it, that halfway through, I realized that if I would be upset, Father would become suspicious as to why I'd care, and that would ruin everything. So instead I put on a fake smile, the very one Kaeri would use constantly. She saw me coming and she gave me a smug look.

"Well, well, well. Took you long enough. My father was getting worried," I said in a sickly sweet way. Kaeri looked at me suspiciously, but it was soon replaced by the smug smirk once more.

"Oh well I'm sure my information will be quite valuable, considering what's behind me," she explained, her smirk widening.

"What are you-" I started, but the sudden smell of blood completely threw me off track.

All color drained from my face as I looked to where Kaeri had side-stepped out of the way. At first glance, you'd think it was one corpse holding another, by how bloodied and injured they were. Looking closer, my heart stopped. _Oh god. Alex…_ I thought in disbelief, my worst case scenarios coming true.

Out of the jungle was Linux, injured and covered in blood that was not only his own, and carried an equally injured, if not more, lion who if I hadn't known out of context, I wouldn't have recognized it to be Alex. He was bathed in blood, more than Linux, with huge gashes on his chest, arms, and legs. I had to stop myself from running to him right then and there, slashing away Linux from him and getting him back to Melvin to be healed. The only thing that kept me planted was the growing amount of lions and lionesses gathering around us.

A roar pierced through the air, and although the pride's been surprised on multiple occasions when the sound had came from Alex's mouth, this time it had been from Father. I wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying, my mind was stuck on one thing; get Alex out of here. Save him. The plan could wait; it had already been set in motion a few weeks ago. It would take them a while to arrive, however. Enough time to get Alex to safety.

I was instantly snapped out of my thoughts when I saw a paw being pointed at me. I blinked a few times and tuned in long enough to hear the words; "Kalixes will have the honour of disposing of this corrupted lion, to prove that she's on our side!" shouted out Father. The other lions, reluctant at first, finally joined in and began cheering.

I mentally cursed myself for not putting the plan in motion sooner. I knew Father was planning on doing something like this, but I didn't think they'd catch him so soon. As I zoned out once more, I saw them taking him to a cave designed for traitors, one that I had spent many nights within. I noticed a team of medicals went with him too, probably because Father wants him to be in better shape for when I have to 'kill him'.

I was about to take a step towards the cave, but I vaguely felt the eyes of everyone in the pride staring at me. _I know what you want, _I thought angrily. _You want me to go to him, just to show that I really am a traitor. Then you'd all have a chance to go through 'the ceremony' again. _Instead, I turned away from the cave and ran to Linux, clearly shocking the majority of the pride members, as well as Linux and maybe even Father.

"Linux, are you alright? You're bleeding everywhere," I turned to the others who stared dumbly, "Quick, get some tree leaves. We're running out in the medical unit and we need them to tie around the wounds to stop the bleeding," I explained. They stared at me for a moment before turning to Father for approval. He nodded and they all rushed into the forest, gathering as much as possible. "Father," I started, turning to him, "There are herbs nearby that can help speed up the healing. Please get someone to gather it," I explained, desperation clear in my voice. This seems to surprise Father, the sincerity in my plea. He nodded for a moment before jetting off.

"I know which herbs you're talking about, but we've run out. You're a better healer than I am, you stay here with Linux while I get the herbs," he said as he dashed out. "I don't want to lose a top lion to tainted scum!"

A moan of pain caught my attention as I looked down to the now lying down Linux. The only reason this is working, I think to myself, is because I actually do care for Linux. Although, yes he'll be my enemy sooner or later, and yes he just attacked Alex, but he helped me these few months, with training and chores and hunting. Along the way, he became a good friend. If anyone had attacked my brother while he was alive, I would've attacked the assaulter too.

This doesn't, however, change the fact that he's in the pride. That he is in my way of saving Alex. I know it seems weird, me still wanting to save him and the others, even after what he'd done, but I know it wasn't his fault. It was Kaeri's, and her manipulative ways. When I told him about how I'd killed my family, he didn't run away screaming bloody murder. He empathized. He understood and still called me his friend. Now he's the one who made the mistake and lost control, and it's my turn to be understanding.

I realized that I had been moving mechanically, for when I snapped back into my thoughts; Linux was in the medical unit, lying on a cold, hard rock. There was a bucket next to the bed as I tried cleaning out the wound. I noticed there were little leaves left from the last battle we had, -the one where I'd injured a bunch of them-, so I cupped some water and began cleaning out his wound with a leaf. He groaned in pain as he fluttered his jade eyes open. I gave him a sad smile as I continued with the job.

"Hey. You fought pretty hard, huh?" I asked softly. He chuckled dryly.

"I gotta say, for a tainted one, he's pretty strong. But not strong enough to beat me," he stated confidently with a smirk, before wincing in pain as I moved on to clean a different wound.

"What happened, anyway?" I asked, hoping my true motives wouldn't be revealed. Linux sighed.

"Well, I found him in the forest. I sucker-punched him at first, but that was the only really clear shot I got of him. He kept demanding that I tell him what we did with you. I wouldn't answer, just trying to get swipes at him, but at this point, he had already sliced me up pretty bad. I wound up telling him that you betrayed him,-"

"Yeah, that's what your brother did," I interrupted quietly. He raised an eyebrow and continued.

"Oh. Well maybe that explains it…" He said quietly, his brows furrowed in both concentration and pain.

"Explains what?" I asked, trying to mask my growing curiosity.

"After I said that, he just sorta… tuned out. His attacks got sloppy and he wasn't concentrating on me anymore. That's when I got the upper hand. Next thing I knew, he's past out on the ground and –OUCH! Kali, that hurt!" he growled in pain as I was accidently too rough on the wound.

"Sorry. Continue," I ask, going gentler this time.

"That's it. Then I carried him back. I didn't see any of his prey friends, so I didn't bother looking for them. It hurts my pride, but I was pretty banged up," he muttered angrily.

"Yeah I noticed," I shook my head slightly before getting up. "Alright, now you need some rest. As soon as the medical team returns, you'll be bandaged up in no time, don't worry," I said as I started walking away, but his paw gripped my arm before I could.

"Wait… don't go yet…" he asked softly. I looked back at him and his jade eyes locked with mine. I didn't see the eyes of a vicious killer I'd have to deal with sooner or later, but those of an ego-broken weak cub. I sighed and sat back down.

"Alright…" I said with a small smile. He smiled back, his paw slipping into my own before closing his eyes. I stifled my own yawn, and then suddenly, as if someone had slapped me in the face, the events of the day came crashing down on me.

_Alex is here, and he's hurt! A medical team is with him, but how much will they spare just to keep him alive long enough to die? Father says I have to kill him and I doubt my plan will formulate in time to stop it! We'd be outnumbered, we'd both die and what of the others? Oh god, the others. They'll be eaten by sunset if Alex doesn't get back to them soon!_

Hysteria bubbled up inside me until the soft sound of Linux's breathing woke me from my thoughts. I gently moved my paw from his, I heard a slight whimper from him but ignored it with the pressing thoughts swimming in my head. I ducked out of the medical unit and looked around, sighing in relief. Most of the pride members were still out looking for medical supplies, although I did see the occasional lion/lioness.

I swiftly moved across the area, hiding behind boulders when I thought someone was looking my way. I finally made it to the traitor unit when I saw the two from the medical team walking out of the cave. I hid behind the boulder as their chatter filled the air.

"I can't believe we had to waste our supplies on a _traitor_,"

"Ugh I know, and just to be killed, anyway,"

"Yeah, you think she'd do it? The leader's daughter?"

Their voices began to fade away as they walked away from the cell, apparently satisfied with their work on Alex. I quickly ran around the back, noticing with a sigh of relief that the bush I had put was still in place. I smirked as I picked it up out of the way, looking through the rather narrow escape passage I had made during one of my many nights as a traitor.

I squeezed myself through the tunnel and was glad to see that most of the cave was hidden in darkness. I looked around the cramped area, but I couldn't see Alex. My eyes were not adjusted to the darkness yet.

"Alex," I whispered loudly, "Alex! It's Kali, I'm here to-"

Suddenly, I saw two sapphire eyes shoot open, the only thing lighting up the otherwise pitch-black cave.

"…K-Kali?" I heard him whisper quietly. I walked closer to him, but he took a step back. "So it's true…" he muttered under his breath.

"Alex, I know what they told you and believe me when I tell you, it's not true! This is all apart of a plan, you'll see. But right now you have to trust me," I looked at him, my eyes screaming sincerity into his skeptic ones, "It's the only way you're getting out of here alive."

For a few moments, all we did was look into each other's eyes. I saw his doubt, along with his pain and regret. He must've realized my words were true since I saw him slowly nod his head. I smiled and gave him a gentle hug, careful not to hit any major wounds.

"I forgive you," I whispered quietly into his ear.

In that moment, all the tension in his shoulder eased out as he sighed, his breath trickling down my neck. I suppressed a shudder as I reminded myself this isn't the time nor place for romantic-related feelings. I told him about the secret exit and he nodded, following me out the passage. As we snuck around the back, ready to leap into the forest, I heard the medical team talking about me once more.

"…can you believe it? And she has no idea."

Intrigued, I listen in on their conversation, Alex crouching closely next to me. I know we have to get out, it doesn't help that Alex keeps whispering it to me, making his breath travel down my fur giving me that feeling again. Makes me lose focus. However, one thing the lion said caught be so off guard, so utterly and completely shocked, that not even Alex's unintentionally provocative breathing could snap me out of it.

Because was it just me, or did he just say that Linux and I are to be mated?


End file.
